Tooth-brush.



J. J. SARRAZIN.

TOOTH BRUSH.

APPLICATION FILED 00125, 1911.

1,048,740. Patented Dec. 31, 1912.

31mm ntoz UNITED STATE PATENT OFFICE.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 25, 1911. Serial No. 656,647.

Patented Dec. 31, 1912.

To all whomit may concern:

Be it known that I, J ULES J. SARRAZIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State of Louisiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tooth-Brushes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention hasfor its object to provide in a tooth brush a novel arrangement of brush head and bristle tufts so as to enable the brush to be easily operated, and to perform functions very diflicult to and usually missed with full bristled brushes.

In the accompanying draiving-Figure l is a perspective view of the brush; Fig. 2 is an end view thereof, and Fig. 3 is a side elevation.

Referring specifically to the drawing, 5 denotes the handle of the brush. From each end of the handle extends a narrow, elonated neck 6 which is formed at its extremity into a head. .The head -7 of one neck is provided with bristle tufts 8 which extend outwardly from said head in a line substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the handle', the arrangement being similar to an ordinary paint brush. The head 9 of the other neck is of greater width. than length .and carries bristle tufts 10 which are arranged in rowsextendingtransversely of the head. ,The tufts extend at substantially right angles tothe handle, similar to the blade of a hoe. Two rows oftufts are shown, but the number of rows may be varied, provided they are arranged as shown, to form a short, moderately wide group of long tufts extending transversely of the brush head. The tufts of the respective rows are in alinement, and in the extremity of'each tuft is made a V-shaped recess 11' extending in the direction of the length of the brush handle. The recesses of the tufts of the respective rows are in alinement whereby V-shaped grooves, are formed in the group 'of tufts, said grooves extending in the direct-ioirof the longitudinal axis of the brush handle. The outer surface of the group of tufts is thus given a serrated or zigza outline. The dividing lines between the tu ts in each row intersect the apices of the serrations, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. This articular arrangement of the serrations is important and is designed to overcome the objection in brushes having their serrations formed by trimming oil the tufts on the sides to formgrooves between the tufts.

necks, where it is so necessary. By trim ming right into the center of the tufts, in accordance with the present invention, the shorter bristles at the center of the tufts come into play on the lingual convexity of necks at the same time that the edges of tufts formed by the long bristles penetrate between the teeth. Again, the edge tufts are not completely spread out of action as with the ordinary trimming. A further advantage of cutting away the centers of the tufts to form the grooves or serrations, is that the brush does better work on the distal necks of teeth next to gaps, bothabove and below, and on the distal necks of rearmost molars, because the bristles adapt themselves to such necks and are forced against them, and theyall re the extreme slde tufts remaining in action,

and their edges encircling the convex surfaces when all the bristles are forced against. them, instead of the extreme side tufts glancing away and off them as with the usual trimming. Furthermore,'children, in cleansing orthodontic bandages, require a style of trimming which properly catches on, around, and under-wires and small lugs, instead of tufts which tend to spread apart as such small appliances get between them, the result being that the most effective part of the tufts, which is the extremity of the bristles, ceases playing on them. This faulty condition is corrected by the hereindescribed trimming, the very extremity of the bristles being kept at work on small objects, since bristles thickly bunched together are brought to bear as the depth of troughs are reached, instead of the tufts having a tendency to divide from each other as in the that friction behind them, at the gum line,

'is increased.

5 downwardly The brush herein described is adapted more particularly for cleaning behind the front teeth. In use, it is held and operated similar to a hoe, the handle being held in a extending direction I when cleaning the upper teeth, and in an upwardly extending direction when cleaning the lower teeth. By this method both the upper and lower rear surfacesof the front teeth can be easily and thoroughly cleaned. By having the tufts extend at right angles to the handle, the brush canbe readily operated behind the teeth and it will reach all parts thereof and the adjacent tissues. The brush is invaluable behind the rearmost large molar teeth, both above and below, behind all side and back teeth which stand next to gaps whence teeth have been lost, whether in the upper or lower jaw, underneath upper and lower front dental bridges (entering the bristles behind *them), and

against the anterior piers of both upper andlower side and rear bridges (the bristles reaching from inside of the mouth). The brush is likewise invaluable for children to clean under and around bandages for straightening teeth. The serrations are important for the reason that as the bristles are rubbed from the gums toward the frontteeth, behind them, the convex portion of the teeth get friction, besides the bristles penetrating between the teeth. Brushing teeth crosswise, for many reasons well known to the dental profession, is the greatest error possible, and the brush is devised for the bristles to work from gums'to morsal surfaces, stimulating the circulation of blood, and at the same time doing the most effective and desirable cleansing.

The two necks 6 are bowed outwardly from the handleportion 5, and the latter has an aperture 12; so that the brush may be hung up on a nail extending from a wall or other support, from which latter the brush head is spaced by bowing the necks as stated. The two necks are curved toward the inside of the brush so as to facilitate the bristles reaching the above-mentioned localities.

I claim:

1. A tooth brush comprising a handle, a head, anda group of bristle tufts carried by the head, the outer surface of the group being serrated, and the dividing lines between the tufts intersecting the apices of the serrations. 7

2. A tooth brush comprising'a handle, a head, and bristle tufts carried by the head, said tufts being arranged in a relatively narrow group extending transversely of the head, and the bristles projecting outward from the head at a right angle to the longitudinal axis of the handle, the outer surface of said group of bristles being serrated, and the dividing lines between the tufts intersecting the apices of the serrations.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

J ULES J. SARRAZIN.

Witnesses W. C. RICHARDSON, CHARLES SHEPARD, FULLER. 

